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[Japan in Pictures] Standing in line

Standing in line, waiting for your turn, is something many people abhor – me being one of them.

At least, that is, before I came to Japan. Waiting in line for an hour or more, to eat lunch or dinner? Sure, if the food is good or the store has been recommended. Sometimes I even tend to choose a restaurant with many people in line, because “well, that must be a good restaurant.” So far I have rarely been disappointed after waiting in line for something, though this might also be due to the fact that food in Japan is usually very good.

Still, it also has to do with the attitude about waiting in line. Most people here in Japan don’t seem to mind the waiting and stand calmly by themselves or chat away with friends. In Germany this attitude is mostly different. Waiting in line breeds huffs of impatience and eyerolls of discontentment. If the restaurant you wanted to eat in doesnt have a free table, you just go to a different restaurant. And since going out to eat isn’t as common as in Japan, most people make a reservation ahead of time, anyway.

Now, when I’m back in Germany, I try to take this waiting in line attitude with me, because let’s be honest, a little waiting never hurt anyone and sometimes, whatever you are waiting for, might just be worth your while 😉

6 thoughts on “[Japan in Pictures] Standing in line”

I noticed that too about Japan. They love to wait in line here. The longest we ever waited in line was about 2 and a half hours for Team Lab’s DMM Planets. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen so it was well worth it even though it started to rain 2/3 of the way through the wait!

That really is a long time. I think our record was about two hours so far, but I don’t actively seek to top that 😄
Indo wanted to go to see DMM Planets but never got around to it. I can imagine that it was absolutely fabulous.